Nazo Unleashed
by Theos the Hedgehog
Summary: The strange being known as Nazo threatens to use the Chaos Emeralds to destroy the planet. Can Sonic and co save the world, or is their power alone not enough? Rated T for language. Please R&R.
1. Act 1: Chaos Attack

**Hiya folks. Theos the Hedgehog here. While I'm working on my next original FanFic, I thought I'd treat you to the 'novel' version of Chakra-X's "Nazo Unleashed". It is by far one of the best cartoons you'll ever watch on the net. Ever!!**

**Legal Stuff: I don't own any of the Sonic characters (they're owned by Sega) or the original Nazo Unleashed (that's Chakra-X's).**

**Oh, and if Chakra happens to come across this, you rock man!!**

* * *

Nazo Unleashed

Act One: Chaos Attack

10:37 AM – Angel Island

The sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was a beautiful, peaceful day on Angel Island. Knuckles the Echidna, sworn guardian of the Master Emerald was dozing in the late morning sun. As he dozed, thoughts of his destiny ran through his head.

'I don't know why, but for as long as I can remember I've lived on this dark island, protecting the Master Emerald. It is my destiny.' The thought of being the guardian of such a powerful entity always filled the crimson echidna's heart with pride, and this was no exception. As he dozed, Knuckles sleepily looked towards the Master Emerald altar.

The huge green gem sat pride of place atop the altar. Surrounding it were seven pillars, one of which were being used. These altars held the seven Chaos emeralds. Only the cyan emerald was currently on Angel Island. The green emerald was currently under the watchful eye of Shadow the Hedgehog. Its Chaos powers helped to boost the Ultimate Lifeforms Chaos Control technique, allowing him to teleport further than under his own Chaos energy. The remaining emeralds had been scattered the last time Sonic and Shadow had transformed to defeat Dr Eggman.

It was while glancing over at the altar that Knuckles noticed something rather odd. The cyan emerald was on the ground, having seemingly fallen off its stone perch. As Knuckles got up to replace it, the gem began to glow. A light erupted from the gem. When the light died down, a pale blue hedgehog stood next to the emerald. Knuckles had never seen anyone emerge from a Chaos emerald before, nor did he recognise this intruder.

"Hey! Who are you?" he demanded, his spiked fists held up to his chest like a prize-fighter. The hedgehog said nothing, simply fixing Knuckles with a stare that could melt lead. Then in a blink of an eye, he was gone…taking the Chaos emerald and the Master Emerald with him!

The whole island began to shake. Knuckles froze and looked around him.

"Oh no" he thought. "Without the Master Emerald's power, this whole island is going to crash into the ocean!" With a deafening crash, Angel Island landed on the planet's surface, sending seismic waves across the globe. Having righted himself, Knuckles glanced around, checking for any structural damage to the altar. Having found nothing, he took to the air, gliding on the warm summer breeze towards Station Square.

"I'm going to need some help" Knuckles said to himself.

11:09 – Downtown Station Square

A robbery was in progress. The front window to a jewellery store smashed outwards, and the pale hedgehog that Knuckles had encountered earlier jumped through the gaping whole, before shooting into the sky. Clutched in his left hand was a fist-sized emerald. Only this emerald was as white as snow. The White Chaos Emerald.

The creature stopped in mid-air and turned towards the city. An evil grin crept onto his lips.

"Chaos Emerald acquired." He held his hand out, palm facing the city. A red ball of energy appeared, and was sent hurtling towards the city. Upon impact, every building and living creature was vaporized in a blinding red light. The creature simply looked on, the grin never wavering.

11.19 – Station Square Park

It took ten minutes for the news flash to hit TVs and radios everywhere.

"A large area of downtown Station Square has been destroyed by a mysterious hedgehog, which was later seen fleeing with a large gem, stolen from a local store. The military and police have confirmed that the hedgehog is not our beloved hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. The military say they are not going to make that mistake again"

A gloved hand turned the radio off, before reaching up to rub a black chin.

"Hmmm…"

11:42 – Central Desert

It hadn't taken Knuckles as long as he had thought to locate tails. The young fox was usually tinkering with his planes, and today was no exception. Knuckles had already given Tails a detailed overview of what had happened on Angel Island, and the pair were now flying over the desert, looking for a certain blue hedgehog. Just as Tails had predicted, a distinctive blue blur shot across the barren ground. Knuckles and Tails flew lower to catch up with their quarry.

For Sonic, it was the perfect day for running. No rain (which he hated) and no Eggman (which he also hated). As he hurtled along nearing the 100mph mark, a familiar whirring made him look up, a huge smile spreading on his face. He slowed down a bit for Tails and Knuckles to catch up, whilst still travelling at easily 85mph.

"Hey Tails, long time no see" quipped the azure hedgehog. "What's up?" Tails summed up the situation: the strange creature that had appeared on Angel Island was called Nazo, supposedly formed of negative Chaos energy. He had stolen the Master Emerald, causing Angel Island to fall into the ocean. Then he had destroyed a large portion of the city after stealing a Chaos emerald from a jewellery store. Since then, there had been four more reports of large gems being stolen by a pale hedgehog. That meant that Nazo nearly had all seven. Luckily, Knuckles had managed to track the Master Emerald to location only thirty miles north of their current location.

"Aww right". Another adventure, thought Sonic. Just what I need to pass the time. He grabbed Knuckles wrist in one hand and Tails' in the other. "Let's go!" With that, Sonic kicked into overdrive, hurtling north at 300mph.

Less than ten minutes later, the trio came to a stop, dust flying up from Sonic slamming the brakes on. Tails suddenly pointed to a large pile of boulders.

"Hey, there are the emeralds!" Sonic and Knuckles turned, and sure enough, the Master Emerald and five of the Chaos emeralds sat at the foot of the boulders. However, Knuckles seemed apprehensive.

"What's up, Knux?" inquired Sonic.

"I can sense a strange energy" said Knuckles. Just then, the pale blue hedgehog appeared, dropping the sixth emerald with the rest. Sonic finally got a look at this new opponent. Nazo's quills stood straight up on his head, much like Sonics did in Super mode. Two dorsal quills stood out at 45-degree angles, almost looking like wings. His blue and red sneakers didn't look anything special.

"It's that creature again! The one on my island" shouted Knuckles. He raised his fists into attack pose. "This time I'll get him good!" He jumped into the air. "I'll take care of this guy myself." Knuckles suddenly turned into a death spin, and thundered into the ground, his spinning fists propelling him through the rock and soil. Nazo didn't move, even when the ground rumbled beneath his feet. Knuckles flew upwards, his fist thundering up into the jaw of Nazo, throwing the pale hedgehogs head back.

Knuckles landed on his feet, a triumphant look on his face. That punch would have floored even Shadow, thought Knuckles. To his dismay, Nazo's head returned to its usual position, not a scratch visible from the attack.

"Man, this guy's tough!" exclaimed Knuckles, genuinely taken aback. "No matter". Small balls of energy floated up from the ground and began to circle Knuckles. A red aura exploded around him, fuelled by Knuckles' growing anger. He rushed forward, fist raised. "Show me what you got!!"

Nazo simply swung his hand as if he was swatting a fly. The backhand caught Knuckles on the side of the head, knocking him for six, and sending him hurtling through a large boulder. The red echidna came to rest in the dirt, knocked unconscious. The new hedgehog turned to Sonic.

"Now for you, Sonic." A blast of red energy hurtled towards Sonic. The azure hero, however, simply kicked it away like a soccer ball. Nazo jumped into the air, the energy ball sailing under his feet and exploding behind him. In retaliation, Nazo sent stream after stream of energy blasts at the blue hedgehog. 'How fast IS this hedgehog' thought Nazo, as Sonic dodged every one, the grin never leaving his face. Suddenly, the azure hero landed on Nazo's head and launched himself into the air.

"Catch me if you can!" taunted Sonic. Nazo stared up, the rage burning in his eyes.

"Chaos Control!" Nazo vanished in a flash of light. The realisation struck Sonic like a thunderbolt.

"He can use Chaos Control?!" Sonic cried out. Nazo reappeared above Sonic, one powerful kick sending the blue hedgehog plummeting back to earth. As Sonic tried to gather his senses in the small crater he had created, Nazo floated above him. Then bringing his palms together, he created a much larger energy blast, firing is vertically at the fallen hero.

"DIE!" shouted Nazo. The energy blast struck the ground and exploded, rocks and rubble being blown in all directions. The triumphant smirk on Nazo' face disappeared when the smoke cleared.

In a flash of green light, Shadow the Hedgehog appeared, having saved Sonic from certain death through his own use of Chaos Control. Sonic picked himself up and grinned at Shadow.

"Hey Shad, what took you so long?" Shadow glanced at his doppelganger, his usual sneer never once leaving his face.

"I didn't come to save you. I came for the Chaos emeralds" said Shadow matter-of-factly. His full attention then turned to Nazo, who had landed on the ground a few feet in front of him.

"What's this?" questioned Nazo. Shadow grinned evilly, taking out his green Chaos emerald.

"I'm the ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog" With that, Shadow used his own Chaos Control to vanish before Nazo could react. Suddenly, Nazo found Shadow behind him, a pistol held to his head. "Are you ready to admit your own foolishness?" chuckled Shadow. Sonic could only cover his face with his hand in mild embarrassment.

'You've gotta be kiddin' me!' he thought.

Out of nowhere, Nazo's elbow ploughed into Shadow's chest, sending the Ultimate Lifeform hurtling backwards, crashing into a boulder. As he collided with the rock formation, his grasp on the green Chaos emerald failed him, and the gem flew through the air, landing next to the six other emeralds and the Master Emerald.

"This is the Ultimate Lifeform?" mocked Nazo. His attentions turned to Sonic. "Now for you, Sonic!" A red energy blast formed at Nazo's fingertips, just as a yellow blast crashed into his back. Glancing back, Nazo saw Tails had just equipped his arm mounted blaster, and was aiming up another shot. "Argh, you pest!" Nazo used Chaos Control and re-appeared face to face with the young fox. The pale hedgehog held a palm to Tails' face. Sonic saw Tails' expression change from one of defiance to one of fear.

"Sonic…" Tails' last words were cut of by a huge blast, the Chaos energy engulfing the young fox. Sonic could do nothing but fall to his knees. Nazo began to circle him, like a lion hunting an injured prey.

"You should now know that nothing can save you or this miserable planet" said Nazo, the venom in his voice painfully clear to Sonic. However, Sonics thoughts were elsewhere. He thought about his fallen friends. _Knuckles. Shadow. Tails._ The Chaos emeralds began to glow, just as a questioning look appeared on Nazo's face.

"You bastard!" shouted Sonic. The glowing Chaos Emeralds suddenly turned black, and standing where Sonic had been was a black hedgehog with blank eyes. Dark Super Sonic.

"This is most unexpected" commented Nazo, before firing a large energy blast at his new foe. Dark Super Sonic simply swatted the blast away. Nazo charged up and lunged at Sonic. The dark eyes narrowed, and Nazo's punch was caught one-handed. The dark energy flared up around Sonic, as he pulled back his other hand. He unleashed a devastating right punch, connecting with Nazo's face. The force of the punch sent Nazo flying out of sight.

Sonic came back to his senses, the blue returning to his fur and the dark aura dying down. But not for long. Centring his energy, Sonic willed the seven Chaos emeralds to him, which began to spin around. As the spinning gems reached their optimum speed, Sonic let out a primal scream to the heavens. The Chaos energy poured into his body, a bright light bubble expanding outwards. The bubble burst, and pure Chaos energy rocketed skywards. Standing at its source, the energy swirling and crackling around him, stood Sonic. His blue fur was now a shining yellow, and as he opened his eyes, his emerald green eyes turned the shade of rubies. Sonic was now Super Sonic.


	2. Act 2: Vengeful Duet

Nazo Unleashed

Act Two: Vengeful Duet

13:08 – Central Desert

The dust settled, and Nazo picked himself up of the ground. The blow from Dark Super Sonic had sent him flying a few miles away from where he had been. Such power was not unknown to Nazo, but to come from a hedgehog…

The mere thought of being over-powered by Sonic made Nazo's blood boil. With a growl of anger, he used Chaos Control to teleport back to where he had encountered Dark Super Sonic. When he arrived in a flash of blue light, the sight that met him was even more surprising. Now, rather than black or blue, Sonics fur glowed yellow, Chaos energy dancing off his spines.

"Ah yes. Super Sonic" said Nazo, showing no concern for his foe's super-charged state. "I do hope you don't think that little trick can beat me." In answer, Super Sonic shot forward, a vicious head butt colliding with Nazo. Sonic jumped on his enemy's backward trajectory, rushing past to kick Nazo skywards as the pale hedgehog came alongside. Airborne, Nazo found himself meeting Sonics left foot face first. The blow sent Nazo pummelling into the ground.

Picking himself up, Nazo looked skyward, just as Super Sonic charged his trademark attack.

"Super Sonic Wind!" The energy blade shot down. Nazo ducked at the last moment, as the Wind sliced a rock column in half, a clean diagonal cut causing the top of the column to slide off. Nazo powered his own attack.

"Chaos Torrent!" Nazo's energy blast was struck by Sonics Super Homing Attack. The two energy blasts exploded, temporarily blinding Sonic. When he opened his eyes again, Nazo was rushing up to meet him. A flurry of punches and kicks were expertly blocked by both hedgehogs.

Meanwhile, Knuckles' eyes flickered open. Pushing himself to his feet, he looked around.

"Where am I?" he asked himself, before his eyes fell on a familiar, yet sinister image.

"Tails!" Knuckles rushed over. Tails was bloodied and charred, with a scorched hole through his stomach from Nazo's attack. Knuckles held his palms to Tails' head and focused the power of the Master Emerald. A green glow bathed Tails as his wounds healed and disappeared. The fox's eyes flew open, a smile appearing on his face. "Knuckles!"

"That's the spirit Tails!" Knuckles helped his young friend to his feet. Suddenly, Tails pointed into the sky.

"There's Sonic!" Knuckles looked up, to see Nazo battling Super Sonic. The two rushed over to try and help.

Back in the air, the punches were flying thick and fast. Trying to gain the advantage, Sonic flew back a few feet and charged up his Chaos powers.

"You're goin' down!" Nazo, in turn, charged his own Chaos powers.

"I'll send you to hell!" The two hedgehogs crashed into each other, the two energy forces struggling to overcome one another. An ill timed punch from Sonic was blocked by Nazo, who returned the favour with a vicious hook to the gut. Specks of blood flew out of Sonics mouth as he doubled over. Clenching both fists together, Nazo smashed into Sonics back, sending the golden hedgehog back to earth. Sonic lay in a shallow crater, his Super powers gone in favour of his usual blue fur.

As Nazo looked down on his fallen foe, Shadow suddenly appeared behind him, attempting to blindside the pale hedgehog. Ever alert, Nazo blocked the blow and smashed Shadow into the ground. The smile of Nazo's face quickly disappeared. Red Chaos energy started to dance along the edge of the crater, as the ground rumbled and a sadistic laugh erupted from the hole. Shadow levitated out of the hole, a golden aura flowing around his black fur.

"I warned you. I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog!" The golden aura exploded, changing Shadow's black fur golden. Shadow stole a glance at Sonic, who was still trying to get his bearings after Nazo's last attack. "Hmph" was all Shadow had to say before looking back up at Nazo. Nazo, for his part, was suitably unimpressed.

"Super Shadow? How redundant" Shadow just smiled.

"You have no idea what you're up against." He shot up, a shoulder embedding itself in Nazo's gut, before Shadow's fists started to take out his frustration on the pale hedgehog. Unable to block the rapid fire punches, Nazo found himself being used like a punch bag. He just managed to duck a right fist, before grabbing Shadow's wrist.

"Got you!" sneered Nazo, before swinging Shadow round like an Olympic hammer and launching the super hedgehog into a cliff face. Stunned for all of two seconds, Shadow opened his eyes, an evil looking grin on his face.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" He leapt back into the fight, raining more punches on Nazo, before knocking him back a few feet. "This is the ultimate power!" yelled Shadow, before launching hundreds of small Chaos spears at Nazo. Somehow, the pale hedgehog avoided them all, ploughing back into Shadow.

Sonic, in the meantime, had pulled himself to his feet and had rushed off in search of power rings. He stopped a few hundred feet from Shadow's battle.

"Yes. Two hundred rings!" He looked up at the ongoing battle, a grin on his face.

Having survived the shoulder barge from Nazo, Shadow caught his breath, swung round and caught Nazo on the temple with his right foot. Nazo plummeted into the ground. Shadow began charging his powers. Lightning flashed as Chaos energy gathered in Shadow's outstretched palms.

"You're going straight to hell!" he chuckled, before unleashing dozens of blinding white energy blasts at Nazo. Every one hit home, forming a Chaos energy bubble pinning Nazo to the ground. Shadow swung his hand back charging his own signature move. Yellow Chaos energy formed a ball in his hand.

"Chaos…Spear!" The energy bolt flew deadly and straight from Shadow, striking the pulsating white energy bubble at its base. The point of impact blew up in a blast of green light, the concussion wave nearly knocking Sonic back off his feet. When the blast died down, Nazo pulled himself out of the rubble, bruised and battered. As Sonic and Shadow looked on, Nazo's wounds healed almost instantly. Sonic charged up again.

"Time to get serious." The familiar golden glow erupted around him and Super Sonic flew off to join his team mate.

Shadow, on the other hand, was livid. His Chaos Spear should have finished Nazo off, yet the pale hedgehog was still alive. Chaos energy began to roar through his veins. His eyes began top glow red. However, an incoming voice interrupted him.

"Hey Shadow. Chill out!" Two ring canisters flew through the air, caught deftly by Shadow. He looked at Super Sonic who now hovered next to him.

"Getting serious huh?" asked Shadow.

"Come on, we can take him!" Sonics perkiness made Shadow smile slightly.

"He doesn't give up, does he?" he said, nodding towards Nazo, who was now levitating in front of them.

"Hey, why don't we use Lightspeed Attack?" suggested Sonic. Shadow chuckled.

"You never cease to surprise me" With that, both super hedgehogs dived into a stationary spin dash. Chaos energy flowed to them, building their combined power. Suddenly the energy exploded and both hedgehogs were upright again, glowing brighter than ever.

"Shall we get going?" asked Shadow. Sonic grinned. "Bombs away!" the two hedgehogs shot past Nazo, who had to do a double take. The two golden hedgehogs began shooting past him in random directions. His eyes flitted back and forth, the first signs of worry creeping onto his face.

"What's going on? I can't follow their movements" As the two blurs shot back and forth, Nazo could hear their taunts.

"Check out my speed now!" taunted Sonic

"Just watch this" mocked Shadow. Suddenly, Sonic drove his foot into the side of Nazo's head, sending his foe flying back.

"Too easy!" he laughed, before shooting past Nazo and kicking him into the air. At the apex of his ascent, Shadow's foot slammed into Nazo's back, sending him spiralling back down to earth. The two super hedgehogs began playing a game of keepy-up, kicking and punching Nazo back and forth. Then both swung a foot, both collided with Nazo, who was sent flying into the ground. Sonic appeared, grabbed Nazo and hurled him skyward, where an energy blast from Shadow sent him flying laterally.

"Sonic!" shouted Shadow. Sonic gave the thumbs up.

"I'm on it!" Sonic rushed upward, out of the atmosphere until Mobius lingered beneath him like blue and green behemoth. "You're finished!" Sonic curled up into a spin dash and hurtled back to earth. As he passed through the atmosphere, he became a flaming ball, like a deadly spinning comet heading towards the planets surface.

Nazo had just picked himself up and aimed his palm at Shadow, preparing to fire an energy blast. Shadow smiled and pointed up. As Nazo's attention was drawn skyward, Sonics foot smashed into the pale hedgehog's skull. Nazo was sent to ground with so much force that rock and dust was sent into space. The crater was half a mile wide, and just as deep. When the dust cleared, there was no sign of Nazo.

"Whoo! That was tight!" cheered Sonic as he pounded fists with Shadow.

"Perfect as always!" said his dark companion. Then both used Chaos control to get to the edge of the crater. There, they made a shocking discovery.

"He's gone!" exclaimed Sonic. Any thoughts of looking Nazo were interrupted by a nearly forgotten voice.

"Sonic!" Sonic looked up, and saw Tails and Knuckles coming into land. Sonic reverted back to his natural blue colour, and tears appeared in his eyes.

"Tails? Knuckles?" No more words were passed as the three friends celebrated being together again. Standing to one side, Shadow let his own super aura drop, and he smiled to himself.

Just then, Sonics ear twitched. Spinning round, everyone saw a pale blur snatch up the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds.

"He's got the emeralds!" shouted Tails.

"What?!" Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. Nazo had survived? As the four companions looked on, a green glow emitted from the centre of Angel Island on the horizon. The island began to lift up into the sky, a tell-tale sign that Nazo had replaced the Master Emerald at the altar.

"Now what?" asked Knuckles. Shadow span round.

"There's no time to lose." Knuckles was about to say something when Sonic spoke up.

"Alright then. Let's show that creep the true power of Chaos Control!"

"Ok" said Knuckles.

"I'm ready" said Tails. The four friends gathered together. Shadow raised his hand and closed his eyes.

"Chaos…Control!" In a flash, the four were gone, heading into their final showdown with the dark being Nazo.


	3. Act 3: Island Finale

Nazo Unleashed

Act Three: Island Finale

16:52 – Master Emerald shrine, Angel Island

With a flash of green light, the four Mobians appeared on the surface of Angel Island. Sonic took a deep breath in whilst surveying his surroundings. "Angel Island. What a peaceful place."

"No time for messing around!" snapped Shadow. Suddenly, a voice cut through the air. "Sonic!" Standing on the Master Emerald shrine, with all seven Chaos Emeralds on their pedestals, was Nazo, a confident smirk on his face as he looked at the new arrivals. The gang ran to the altar.

"Nazo!" shouted Sonic, the anger plain to see in the azure hedgehogs face.

"You're too late Sonic. I have all the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald on the altar" taunted Nazo. "With these elements, I will annihilate this planet. I am pure Chaos!" Lightning flashed as dark ominous clouds began to gather overhead. Nazo's gaze drifted from the blue hero to the black anti-hero. "Sonic. Shadow. Everyone and everything you know is coming to an end. Perfect Chaos is nothing compared to me. I'll show you the true power of Chaos!"

Bright streaks of Chaos energy shot out from Emerald to Emerald, effectively penning Nazo within the altar. A bright light erupted from the Master Emerald, as Nazo started to glow red. Before the eyes of the four companions, the two quills on Nazo's back changed into four in an X shape. The quills on his head shifted, two pointing down on either side of the hedgehog's face, while the remaining four grew slightly in length. Gold rings, similar to Shadow's, appeared on Nazo's wrists and ankles. All the while, Nazo's evil laugh echoed across the island and down to the planet's surface.

The sea below Angel Island was stirred up by the Chaos energy, sending mild shockwaves across Station Square. People ran for shelter as buildings shook. Huddles together within the city stood Amy Rose and Cream, both terrified by the earthquakes and the manic laughter ringing through the air.

As quickly as the storm had built up, it died down again. Standing on the altar was a different Nazo. His pale fur was now a dark maroon. His once blue eyes had turned yellow, the iris' glowing red. His voice, now darker and more sinister, seemed to hiss as he spoke.

"At last. My transformation is complete" The new Nazo pointed a finger at his foes. "For the last moments of your lives, you may refer to me as Perfect Nazo!" Sonic was suitably unimpressed.

"I've had enough!" shouted the hedgehog, as he burst into Super Form. "Just who do you think you are anyway?" With that he flew at Nazo, moving before Knuckles could grab him.

"Hey, calm down. Don't do it Sonic!" yelled the echidna, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Super Sonic flew through the air, fist raised. He swung with all his might and connected.

Nazo didn't even flinch. Unable to comprehend what just happened, Sonic swung a powerful kick, connecting with thin air as Perfect Nazo disappeared. The maroon villain reappeared thirty feet higher up in the air. Sonic quickly brought himself level with his enemy.

"You're gonna pay for this!" Sonic ducked into a super charged spin dash and hurtled towards Nazo. Nazo stopped the still spinning Sonic with one hand, a cocky smile on his face. A blast of black energy shot out the hand, blasting Sonic back to earth. Sonic, bloodied and bruised, could almost sense the ground rushing up to meet him…

…when a gloved black hand caught his wrist, stopping his freefall by a couple of meters. Shadow glared at his rival, hovering himself on his jet shoes.

"Your weakness disgusts me!" he sneered as he dropped Sonic to the ground. He then continued his ascent, coming level with Nazo. "I'll show you the ultimate power!" Super Shadow burst into life, firing a huge energy blast at Nazo. With one hand, Nazo swatted the blast to the side, exploding like a golden firework. Shadow growled with frustration before launching himself forward. "Chaos…Control!" Nazo didn't move, but his eyes flashed.

Shadow was frozen in midair, his own Chaos Control being slowed down by Nazo's unnatural powers. Holding one hand out, Nazo fired a black energy blast at point blank, sending Shadow crashing into the ground. Nazo just laughed at how easily he was throwing the two hedgehogs around.

On the ground, amidst the rubble and dust, Shadow's eyes began to glow a sinister red. The two golden energy rings on his wrists popped off, unleashing his true power. With a Chaos fuelled roar, Shadow's inner Chaos energy burst to the surface, his golden aura replaced by an angry red. Knuckles looked on, the worry evident in his voice.

"There's something wrong with Shadow!" Shadow's evil laugh rang out as he continued to power up.

"Shadow! Have you lost your mind?" shouted the battered Sonic. Shadow didn't reply.

"Chaos…" he disappeared, reappearing a second later, his hand clamped round Nazo's throat, slamming the maroon villain into the ground. "…BLAST!" The scarlet energy blast moved out with blinding speed, engulfing nearly the whole island. When it subsided, Shadow was covered in sweat, doubled over at the bottom of a huge crater. The two golden energy rings reappeared on his wrists as he caught his breath.

"Damn!" His voice seemed to be barely a whisper. A familiar figure appeared beside him, showing no damage from the Chaos Blast. Shadow face showed utter terror as he looked into the yellow eyes of Nazo. "Who…who are you?!" was all Shadow could say. Nazo grinned.

"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform!" A swift kick sent Shadow flying up, where Nazo met him and pummelled him back to earth. The dazed black hedgehog crashed into Sonic, who had no time to react. The ground exploded and the rubble buried the two hedgehogs. Nazo's chilling laugh filled the air. "Don't tell me this is the planets only line of defense" he mocked. "I didn't think it would be this easy!!"

Tails turned to Knuckles, disbelief registering on the young fox's face.

"We can't let him get away with this, can we?" Knuckles looked down at the ground. "Even my attacks aren't enough." He glared up at Nazo. "I can't believe that bastard!"

Under the rubble from Shadow's crash landing, images of friends flash across both hedgehogs' unconscious minds. Sonic saw Tails, Knuckles, Cream and Amy. Rouge and E123 Omega flashed in front of Shadow. Then another image flashed, simultaneously across both minds. Tikal, the ancient echidna princess, stood before the Master Emerald altar, speaking the sacred chant used to empower the Emerald.

"The servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The user is the one who unifies the Chaos…" Two pairs of eyes opened, two pairs of irises flashed as the next level of Chaos was unleashed.

Above ground, Knuckles' natural link to the Emeralds screamed in his head, causing him to turn to the altar.

"Those Chaos Emeralds…" As the Master Emerald flashed like a heartbeat, the seven Chaos Emeralds, one by one, glowed white and doubled in size. Super Emeralds. A blast of bright white energy erupted from the pile of rubble, taking Nazo by surprise. Hovering within the light were two hedgehogs, both glowing in a series of rapidly changing colours. Two very pissed off hedgehogs.

"Hmph. You actually thought you could defeat me, by transforming into a monster?" Sonic's voice sounded like there were three of him, all speaking slightly out of turn, creating a harmonic echoing effect. Nazo was nearly speechless.

"Hyper…"

"Behold, the Ultimate Power!" Shadow's voice resonated in the same way. Knuckles and Tails looked on at Hyper Sonic and Hyper Shadow. The cocky grins appeared on the hyper charged hedgehogs' faces. Sonic spoke first.

"There's only one way to go. Ready?"

"Ok!" answered Shadow. Then, as one voice, both hedgehogs called out

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The white light grew in intensity, causing Tails Knuckles and Nazo to shield their eyes. When the light died, a new hedgehog drifted down to the ground, Chaos energy rippling around him. His fur was pure white, including the chest patch. His shoes looked like Sonic's, but had Shadow's Chaos jets on the soles. The hedgehog had eight upturned quills on his head, the lower two on either side having Shadow's distinctive red streaks. Nazo seemed to be utterly confused.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Are you Sonic or Shadow?" The new hedgehog pointed at Nazo, a familiar grin on his lips. One word came out.

"Shadic!" Knuckles and Tails looked on in wonder and disbelief. Shadic? Had Sonic and Shadow really merged to form this hyper hedgehog? Nazo asked himself the same question, then smiled eerily.

"You can pull whatever trick you like. It will only delay the destruction of this planet." Nazo turned around, aiming a negative Chaos energy blast at the planet's surface.

Out of nowhere, a flying kick from Shadic collided with Nazo, sending the maroon hedgehog hurtling through two rock formations, ending up embedded in a cliff face. Pulling himself out, Nazo teleported back to the battlefield, much more wary of his new foe. This is impossible, he thought, staring at Shadic.

As if answering Nazo's silent query, Shadic started charging his Chaos powers, white lightning bouncing off the multi-coloured aura. Nazo also started charging his negative Chaos powers, black lightning sparking off a purple aura. The two hedgehogs rushed at each other, moving quicker than Knuckles or Tails could follow. Punches and kicks were expertly blocked by both warriors, the crashing of limbs echoing like thunder across the island. Station Square had come to a stand still as every citizen watched a big screen reporting a disturbance from Angel Island.

Finding himself knocked back, Shadic powered up. The full power of the Super Emeralds flowed through his veins and the white hedgehog flew at Nazo, a speed-of-sound fist colliding with the villain's cheek. Nazo was sent flying backwards, followed by Shadic. A swift upwards kick sent Nazo careering into open space. Shadic joined him, to find a black energy bolt heading towards him.

"Chaos Wind!" Shadic's own attack neutralised that of Nazo, and the two hyper charged hedgehogs continued the fight.

Nazo was slammed into an asteroid, breaking through and ending up on another one beyond. Teleporting back to Shadic, he took the hero by surprise, a double axe-handle sending Shadic crashing into the surface of the moon. Recovering quickly, Shadic ducked into a spin dash, Shadic caught Nazo in the midriff, carrying his foe back towards earth. Shadic increased his speed before kicking Nazo straight back to earth. Despite the searing heat as he passed the atmosphere, Nazo managed to right himself, and landed on two feet. Shadic quickly reappeared on solid ground, no worse for wear from the inter-stellar battle.

Nazo was breathing hard, having been pushed to his limits by Hyper Shadic. "Well…" he breathed raggedly, "you two are harder to kill than I thought. I don't know how you managed to pull off that unification trick with Chaos Control, but I must admit; it was highly impressive." Shadic rubbed his nose, a cocky smile cemented on his face. Nazo continued. "But tell me, Hyper Shadic. How many rings do you have left after that little performance?" The reality struck Shadic like a fist to the gut. If he ran out of rings, he's transform back to regular Shadic, or even lose the unification altogether. Nazo laughed at the fear in Shadic's eye.

"I'm also impressed with your ability to turn Chaos Emeralds into Super Emeralds, something even I can't do. However," he chuckled as his palms glowed black, "this also works in my favour. With the Super Emeralds, I'll absorb the new reservoir of negative Chaos energy!" Seven dark orbs emitted from the Super Emeralds, and formed a new aura around Nazo. The new negative power coursed through him. The gold rings on his arms and legs began to glow before turning black. Black electricity darted from his spines, as Hyper Perfect Nazo stood before the heroes.

"Know this, Shadic. Tails. Knuckles" growled Nazo, looking at each of his foes in turn. "The three of you combined could not match the amount of negative Chaos energy I now possess." A sly smile crept onto Nazo's lips. "Before I destroy you all, I shall leave you with my final explanation." Looking up to the sky, Nazo began his justification.

"You see, being born of negative energy makes me naturally inclined towards attaining as much power as possible. Soon I shall have more energy than any star. Than any universe…" Nazo looked back at the heroes, the wistful expression replaced with one of disgust. "But there is one entity whose power I shall never be able to surpass." Knuckles glanced past Nazo, who nodded. "That's right Knuckles. Your Master Emerald. A gift from the gods themselves; a source of infinite power. No matter how much energy I absorb, I will never reach a level of infinity. So, the only solution is to detonate the planet, causing the Master Emerald to explode, shattering it into millions of fragments and scattering them across the cosmos, ensuring their power can never be harnessed again." Nazo clenched his fists, the anger burning in his yellow eyes. "I will not be damned to eternal subordination towards that rock!"

"No way!" shouted Shadic, his own fists clenched ready for the next round. Nazo simply chuckled.

"Of course, you will resist. So let's see how many rings you have left to stop THIS!" Nazo teleported into the air, both hands holding a raging ball of negative Chaos energy. Bringing them together above his head, a gigantic ball of energy began to form, dwarfing the hyper hedgehog who was its master.

Shadic, still stood on terra firma, held both arms out to the side, and called upon the positive power of Chaos. Across the globe, golden power rings began to float into the air, drawn towards Angel Island like a magnet. The golden energy sparked in and around Shadic as he gathered more energy than either Sonic or Shadow had ever possessed before.

While the two warriors built their attacks, people around the world looked to the skies. Knuckles and Tails looked on, the anxiety painted clearly on their faces. Amy held onto Cream. Rouge and Omega looked on. The Chaotix detectives watched the skies. Even Eggman and Metal Sonic stopped to watch the final battle. Gradually, with increasing frequency, people and Mobians held their own energy rings to the sky. Each ring added its power to Shadic, each ring another symbol of hope against the destructive powers of Nazo. The world united as one.

In sync with each other, the colossal negative energy ball hurtled down while Shadic's hyper blast fired upwards. The two energies met, each trying to out do the other. Shadic increased his power output, the energy sounding like an explosion as it left his palms. Nazo's ball began to move away, shunted back by Shadic's increasing power. Nazo fired four smaller blasts into the gargantuan, its power now beginning to overwhelm Shadic. The ball crept closer and closer to the surface. Shadic closed is eyes and gritted his teeth, putting everything he had into stopping the ball of destruction.

Shadic's two most trustworthy allies came to his rescue. With a roar, Knuckles allowed the power of the Super Emeralds to wash over him. An explosion of Chaos energy, and Hyper Knuckles stood glowing, his pink fur glowing with pure power. Tails let out a shout of his own, as the Super Emeralds turned his orange fur golden. His protective Flickies began to circle him. The glare on his face said Super Tails was ready.

The two newly transformed heroes shot into the sky, appearing behind Nazo. Shadic looked up in surprise to see his friends there, risking themselves to help him. Nazo, on the other hand, registered shock and fear. Tails grabbed hold of Knuckles wrist and span into a tornado of gold and pink, before launching the hyper echidna, fists first towards Nazo. With the maroon villains attention diverted, Shadic pumped one last blast of Chaos into his attack. The blast punched through Nazo's energy bomb, obliterating the build up of negative energy. Knuckles collided with Nazo, his momentum pushing the villain into the head of Shadic's attack. With a scream of pain, Nazo was carried away by the energy blast, past the atmosphere and into deep space.

"We did it!" exclaimed Tails. Before Shadic or Knuckles could reply, a swirling black void appeared in the sky above the island. Made of negative Chaos energy, it was a potential point of return for Nazo.

"What's that?" asked Knuckles anxiously. He glanced to Shadic, whose white coat faltered for a moment, temporarily flashing back to a dark blue colour. "Shadic!" The echidna was worried now. If the hyper hedgehog ran out of rings, the return of Nazo would be a disaster. Shadic didn't seem too concerned.

"Chaos…Control!" He disappeared from sight, heading into the void to finish off the threat once and for all.

Within the darkness of the void, Hyper Perfect Nazo woke up. Looking around, he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

"What…I'm alive? Those Emeralds proved to be more useful than I thought." A frown crept along his brow. "Damn. I suppose I'll just have to try to destroy the earth again."

With a blinding flash, Hyper Shadic suddenly appeared within the void, the dull Super Emeralds surrounding him. He motioned towards himself with two fingers.

"What are you doing?" asked Nazo, before he froze in place. The power of the Super Emeralds was drained from him, leaving him feeling like he'd been running for days. The seven orbs of energy filled each of the Emeralds. Then, with a resounding crash, they merged with Shadic.

The power radiating from the white hedgehog was unbelievable. His whole body glowed like a supernova as the full power, positive and negative blasted through him. Nazo, panting for air, formed a black energy blast in his hand, ready to attack.

"No. I won't let you…" His words were cut off, as the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds was absorbed from him by Shadic, whose palm was now in front of the regular pale face of Nazo. Fear shone in his eyes, a feeling that the negative being had never felt before.

"No. You can't be doing this!" Without moving a muscle, a smiling Shadic let rip with a gigantic blast of white Chaos energy. With a scream, Nazo's form disintegrated. As Shadic continued the blast, the spirits of Sonic and Shadow stood alongside, each adding their own energy to the blast.

Back on the island, the swirling dark vortex exploded, white light being scattered in an arc from the explosion. Station Square erupted into cheers as the feeling of certain destruction lifted from the crowd. Everyone who had watched the fight from afar celebrated. Even Eggman nodded his approval. After all, if Nazo had destroyed the planet, what would there be for him to conquer?

Back on Angel Island, Knuckles and Tails were celebrating when movement behind them caught their eye. Spinning round, they saw a quick flash, followed by Sonic and Shadow being thrown apart as Hyper Shadic's rings finally ran out. Running over to Sonic, they helped the azure hero to his feet. With a beaming grin on his face, Sonic thumped fists with Knuckles and ruffled Tails hair.

"Thanks guys" said the blue hedgehog. Knuckles put his hands on his hips.

"What do you think friends are for?" he asked. A thumbs up from Sonic said more than words ever could.

Sonic then walked over to Shadow, who was brushing himself down. Looking at his number one rival, Sonic couldn't help but grin.

"Looks like we did it, Shad" said Sonic. Shadow closed his eyes, a small grin of his own never leaving his lips.

"Indeed we did, faker" he growled, before looking Sonic in the eye, a mischievous glint there that Sonic usually only saw when he looked in the mirror. "But now that we're apart again, I suppose I'll just have to whip your ass from here to the other side of the island." That, if possible, made Sonic's grin even bigger. He looked at Shadow, studying the black hedgehogs face for any signs of sarcasm. Finding none, Sonic crouched down into a sprinters stance.

"You wish, Shad. You wish." Shadow stood alongside his rival, bent slightly in a marathon runner's stance.

"On three?" Sonic nodded.

"1…2…3…GO!"


End file.
